*** Honors Candidate ***

2013: Listed as a backup at defensive tackle on
the preseason depth chart. Ranked 26th on the preseason FCS
defensive tackle rankings as selected by Josh Buchanan at
philsteele.com.

2012: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky
honors. Made the first and only start of his career thus far versus
Southern Utah (10/27/12) and finished with three tackles and
half-sack. He played a big role in Eastern’s unconventional,
27-24 come-from-behind victory over second-ranked Montana State
(10/13/12) to earn team special teams player of the week honors.
The Bobcats out-gained EWU 375-211, but EWU managed to take the
lead for good on a blocked punt by Zylstra that was recovered for a
touchdown by Evan Day. Just 59 seconds later, an interception by
Jordan Tonani was returned 21 yards for a touchdown to give EWU a
10-point advantage it didn’t surrender. He had a season-high
six tackles against Cal Poly (11/3/12) and one game later had four
versus UC Davis (11/10/12). In the spring, he was selected as
Eastern’s co-most improved defensive player. Zylstra and
teammate Ashton Boothroyd were recognized by EWU and the Big Sky
Conference for their role in rescuing a kayaker, who had fallen
into Long Lake, northwest of Spokane, Wash., on May 31, 2012. The
two were fishing when they saw the man struggling, and yelling for
help. They were able to borrow a row boat and Zylstra pulled the
man from the frigid waters.

2011: Zylstra played sparingly as a redshirt
freshman in 2011, but finished with 11 tackles and a quarterback
hurry. Seven of his tackles came versus Portland State
(10/29/11).

2010: Redshirted. Was selected as
Eastern’s Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year. Was
selected as the team’s defensive scout team player of the
week twice.

HS: Graduated from Kentridge HS in 2010. Earned
honorable mention 4A All-State honors as a linebacker from the
Associated Press. Named by the Seattle Times as a
“White Chip” selection as one of the top 100 prospects
in the state of Washington. Was selected to the Seattle
Times “Star Times” All-Area team as a defensive
end/linebacker. He was the South Puget Sound League North Division
Defensive Back of the Year and earned first team all-league honors
as a linebacker. He had 67 tackles as a senior with 5 1/2 sacks, 13
1/2 total tackles for loss, four blocked kicks and two passes
broken up. He helped Kentridge to a 6-4 record overall, including a
6-2 league mark. He also played basketball for three years at
Kentridge, and averaged 11.5 points as a senior to earn honorable
mention All-SPSL North Division honors for the second-straight
season. He helped lead Kentridge to third place in the 2009 State
4A Tournament and a final record of 20-9.

Personal: Management major. Born 10/11/91 in
Renton, Wash. Will turn 22 one day before Eastern plays at North
Dakota. Parents are Douglas and Belinda Zylstra. Name is pronounced
“zill-struh.”